Needs & Behaviors for Disaster Response

Emergency Communications is specific and often deals with life-and-death situations and vital information. An untrained, unpracticed and inadequately equipped Ham radio operator is a burden to their fellow team members and a liability to both the victims and responders.

Once you have learned the skills necessary to be an effective Emergency Communications operator those skills will need constant exercise. That exercise is simply not available to amateurs in the normal day to day course of our hobby, even the experienced National Traffic System traffic handler and contest operators that are not specifically trained, equipped and personally prepared, are not qualified for emergency work.

Properly trained Ham radio Emergency Communications operators must carry the tools and equipment that they need to do the job properly.

Emergency Management Officials requesting ARES/RACES assets are relieved to know that specially trained and disciplined Ham radio responders are capable of doing their job, that they are self-managing and self-sufficient for at least the first 24 hours of an incident. Members of local ARES/RACES organizations are usually screened and issued identification that shows the controlling agency that they are allowed to be in secure areas such as police and fire stations, schools, public works depots and Emergency Operations Centers. It is for these reasons that Emergency Management Officials all over the United States are hesitant to allow untrained volunteers to participate in a coordinated response to any incident, in any capacity.

What is the mark of a good emergency communicator?

A good ARES/RACES operator:

1.  They are accurate, clear, and concise in all communications.

2.  They listen and are aware of the activity on the assigned frequencies, and they don’t “walk on” others using a frequency.

3.  They always use plain language, no “Q signals,” “10-codes” or ham-specific “jargon”.

4.  They know and use common terminology.

5.  They use ITU phonetics and pro-words correctly.

6.  They handle “formal” and “tactical” traffic equally well.

7.  They work cooperatively with others, even under pressure and follow instructions.

8. They have a working familiarity with and can operate effectively within the Incident Command System.

The specific goal of all ARES/RACES members should be in maintaining the highest standards, not only in performance but also in behavior.                                                                                                                             

As an Emergency Communications operator, you are working with professionals, who expect professionalism in return. Recognize that amateur radio operators are individuals, but when you “step up to the plate” and volunteer to serve your community you are part of a team which has been formed for the purpose of executing an approved plan, in accordance with policies, procedures and rules!                                                                              There are certain things that are expected of all ARES/RACES members:                    1. The chain of command should be followed at all times and it can change at each incident; it is incumbent on all individual members to find out what that is and work within it.

2. ARES/RACES personnel must abide by all applicable FCC regulations for whatever radio system is in use, at all times. Public Safety, Commercial and Amateur services have different rules!

3. ARES/RACES personnel are expected to participate in most available training exercises. Those who do not participate adequately are considered untrained and could be removed from active status.

4.  ARES/RACES members shall conduct themselves professionally when dealing with the public, private relief organizations, as well as other amateur radio operators and our served agencies.

 5. ARES/RACES Personnel should avoid distasteful or controversial public discussion or comments.

6.  All ARES/RACES members must have current issued identification badges and FCC license copy in their possession at all times, and must display them prominently while on activation. Appropriate identification is required to ensure that volunteers are not mistaken as professional responders. This could result in ARES/RACES personnel being inappropriately assigned non-communication tasks which exceed their legal authority, training and ability.

7. ARES/RACES personnel should always present a clean, well-groomed, neat and professional appearance which builds confidence in the minds of organizations we support.

8. ARES/RACES personnel shall not consume alcoholic beverages or controlled substances while on activation. Any member found under the influence of any intoxicant while activated will be removed from the scene and have his/her team membership immediately terminated.

9. ARES/RACES personnel shall not carry firearms during exercises or when activated, except for sworn law enforcement officers, required by their supervising authority to be armed off-duty.

10. All communications and statements made during an operation are to be treated as strictly confidential. Personnel will make no statements or provide information to the media or any non-departmental personnel at any time. Inquiries by the media must be directed to the Public Information Officer (PIO).

11. Members should always operate in a safe manner. If you are asked to do something that you consider unsafe, you have the right to refuse and to notify the incident Safety Officer.

Duties and Activities:

There are a number of duties that you may be asked to do in the course of a mission. The most common of these are:

Portable Station: A portable station is a solo assignment of a tactical nature. This usually involves carrying a VHF, UHF or dual-band radio and walking around. You may be assisting in damage assessment, neighborhood patrol, securing a foot perimeter on a Search and Rescue mission, observation, weather spotting, and other activities that require being on foot. Your gear should be carried so that you are self-contained for at least 12 hours, including food, water, and battery power. The standard of service expected is the ability to maintain communications for a full operational period without re-supply from your vehicle.

Shadow Station: This is a specialized form of “Portable” (or occasionally Mobile) assignment in which you are assigned to “shadow” an official or ICS Command Staff personnel, to ensure that they have “instant and continuously ready” access to radio communications. When the official you’re shadowing needs to make or receive a call, you must be “right there, right now” to hand him/her the microphone.

Mobile Station: From your vehicle, you should be able to drive and perform a number of tactical or logistic functions. This may include road searches, sound sweeps, perimeter patrol, wide-area damage reports, storm tracking, personnel, equipment and supply transport, which require the use of Mobile Stations. This is usually a two-person team, with one person doing the driving and operating the radio and the other navigating, spotting and logging all traffic.

Relay Station: This is a combination of Fixed and Mobile operating, always a two person team, with one handling the radio and the other logging all traffic. You drive to a designated location, establish an operational position and relay traffic assigned to you. The relay may be performed on two or more frequencies, possibly requiring cross-band or cross mode operation, and may require setup of larger antennas than can be successfully supported by a vehicle in motion, thus making the Relay Station more demanding of equipment inventory and operating expertise than other assignments.                    Fixed Station: Fixed Stations are sometimes believed to only be dedicated net control, net liaison and EOC operators. However, there are many times, particularly in ground search and rescue, mass casualty, evacuation coordination, debris clearance and wildfire suppression, when ARES/RACES operators are expected to operate from a casualty collection point, staging area, equipment or supply depot, shelter site, Incident Command Post, police, fire station, hospital or temporary EOC. There may already be a pre-positioned antenna with coax terminating in a designated operator position with a desk, checklists and operating aids, in which you simply need to bring in and connect your equipment. In other cases the ARES/RACES operator must begin from scratch and provide all equipment being used. An important part of a Fixed Station assignment is the ability to set up, trouble-shoot, test, maintain and take down that equipment. Once more, this is a two-person assignment, with one person handling the radio and the other logging all traffic.

The best way for amateur radio operators to use their skills and equipment to help their community in an emergency is to register and practice with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). With the rising number and severity of national scale disasters, the need for adequate preparation and identification of amateur radio operators has risen dramatically. It is now imperative for those wanting to really contribute to service in this way to register with their local ARES/RACES organizations, and complete a minimum of training courses.                                                                         Complete as many as possible of the online training courses available from FEMA:
IS-700 (NIMS), IS-100 (ICS), IS-200 (ICS), and IS-800 (NRP).

1.     Complete at least one, and preferably all, the online Emergency Communications training courses available from the ARRL: EC-001, EC-002, and EC-003.

2.     Check in to the weekly training nets and ARES activations (e.g., storm spotting).

3.     Program your radio(s) with the list of local repeaters that will be provided to you upon registering with ARES, and know how to use them. During an emergency is not the time to be learning how to use your radio's features or learning the required procedures and protocols of emergency communications!

Edited excerpts from the VA Ares site